Eager to Please

Arrive at your interview in character, having studied your
lines (even if they're just the company's revenue lines) and
having set the alarm for AM, rather than PM.

Dear Annette,

I have an interview tomorrow with a prominent company and am
very eager to please them. Can you give me some important
pointers on interviewing?

Nervous Wreck

Dear Nervous,

Jitters are a marvelous sensation, providing that refreshing
sense of being alive in a big wide world. Your nerves are
telling you that you would like to show this company You at
Your Best. Isn't it wonderful to feel that way about an
opportunity?

I'm sure you have prepared for the interview in the basic
sense - printed fresh copies of your resume and slipped them
into your classic portfolio, studied the company's recent
financial performance, spent some time at the website, laid
out your clothes for tomorrow, vowed to remember everyone's
name, double-checked that your alarm clock is turned on and
set for AM, not PM - that sort of thing.

The basics are basic because they provide a stage from which
to deliver your best, Oscar-caliber work. Like an actor
learning lines and blocking, basic research about a company,
and basic understanding of interview stage directions, helps
you provide marvelous answers to some of the test questions
you may be asked, without wiggling or scratching yourself
tellingly.

To be truly fabulous, of course, you must get beyond the
basics, and ask yourself, "What's my character? What's my
motivation?" Your character is Perfect Fit for the Job, and
your motivation is to enter the interview with the confidence
of a winner. Your goal is to make it look natural.

Whenever I have a particularly exhilarating meeting to look
forward to, I go through a special enfabulizing ritual
designed by my dog Dickie, who is the number two sales
representative for the number two cosmetics concern in the
Pacific Rim.

Dickie has developed a regimen involving facial, manicure,
pedicure, makeover, and lots of strenuous exercise. Of
course, I don't actually do the exercise; I have
People to do it for me. But the effect is just the same: I
arrive at my important appointment feeling refreshed,
renewed, and ready for anything.

You may or may not have a personal assistant like Dickie. But
as you prepare for the big day, remind yourself why you are
indeed the Perfect Fit for the Job. Become the character.
Treat yourself to something special, and treat yourself as
someone special. Everyone you meet is sure to see how
fabulous you are.